Last day to buy Rangers Football Club *updated*

Bids: Potential bids for the troubled club end today. Image: Christopher Harress

Potential bidders who wish to buy Rangers Football Club have until the end of today, 16 March, to submit a bid.

There are currently five bidders who are interested in taking over the Rangers.

Ibrox administrators, Duff and Phelps, will look at the bidders’ funding capabilities and how they will handle the financial concerns of the Rangers club, before deciding who they will engage in further negotiations.

David Murray, former Ranger’s director, and his consortium the Blue Knights are currently one of the interested bidding parties. Murray has won the support of the former Rangers Boss, Walter Smith, as well as the three main fan groups.

Ticketus, the investment firm which provided £24.4 million for Craig Whyte to takeover the Rangers in May 2011, will back the Blue Knights in the takeover bid.

Murray said: “It’s time to change the ownership model of the club in order to make it sustainable. We also have to recognise the club is in crisis and requires substantial investment. If there is a bid which will be better for Rangers than ours we will gladly take a step back or join forces. We just want Rangers to be safe.”

Brian Kennedy, an Edinburgh born multi-millionaire and owner of Premiership rugby side Sales Sharks, is another of the interested bidders. He said: “I don’t really want to buy the club but I don’t want to see Rangers die.” He added: “I hope to get something in by Friday purely as a fallback for the administrators, should the other bids fall over or not be acceptable. If I am going to be in a position where they ask me to press on with it, I want to know more about it.”

Other bidders include, Shazad Bakhsh, from Glasgow who is trying to gather investors from Singapore, and Fortress Investment Group and Club 9 Sports, who are both American Backers.

UPDATE: Sir David Murray has pulled himself out of the bid to buy Rangers FC again. [13:30pm]